A Step-by-Step Guide to Buying All-Natural Beauty Products

July 27, 2017

As a lot of you might know, I love all-natural beauty. I love making DIY Face Masks and DIY Hair Masks. What I enjoy about it is learning the science behind the different ingredients and how each ingredient has different benefits for your skin and hair. It’s really interesting how there are things right in nature that can be just as effective (if not more effective) than the man-made stuff. But, whipping up DIY beauty products all the time isn’t always the best option when time is tight, so I also love exploring beauty lines with a dedication to using natural ingredients that are sustainably sourced.

So, today I’m going to share some of my best tips for buying all-natural beauty products. It certainly can be a hard road to navigate with ingredients labels getting harder and harder to read. But, using all-natural has a slew of benefits. Not only is it good for the environment, but it’s typically safe for your body as well since you’re leaving the toxins and chemicals out of it. Not to mention, you can usually find that all-natural beauty typically goes hand-in-hand with cruelty-free beauty, which I know is something that’s important to a lot of you.

Watch Out For “Stop” Ingredients

Phthalates―These are often found in fragrances and the non-safe phthalates are linked to a number of things from allergic reactions to sperm damage to hormones disruption.

Sulfates― These are used in soaps to make that soapy foam that we’ve come to associate with “clean.” While almost all studies have proved that the amounts of sulfates in beauty products is a safe level, many people have skin sensitivity to them. Additionally, some research suggests it can be drying on your skin and hair.

Look for the Logos

Brands that use organic and all-natural ingredients will usually have the logo proudly stamped on the packaging. You can find Certified Organic, Certifed Natural, Cruelty-Free and other logos like this letting you know the status of their ingredients.

As you can see on the above Nyakio label, there are a handful of helpful logos that let you know right off the bat what the status of these ingredients are. Products that aren’t organic or all-natural won’t have these logos.

Say No to Artifical Fragrance

Federal law doesn’t require a company to disclose what makes up a product’s fragrance (it can just say “fragrance” on the ingredients). On top of that, “The average fragrance product tested contained 14 secret chemicals not listed on the label,” via Scientific America. Sometimes a product’s fragrance mixture can contain a mixture of chemicals that you would probably prefer to not put on your skin. Artifical fragrances very often contain phthalates (as explained above). Phthalates, in general, can range from completely safe to not safe at all – but since it’s impossible to know without the full disclosure, it’s usually much safer to opt for fragrance-free or all-natural fragrances. The non-safe phthalates are linked to a number of things from allergic reactions to sperm damage to hormones disruption.

Do Your Research

Taking the time to be informed about the products and brands you use is the best way to ensure you’re using safe, natural products. That’s why I am excited to share Nyakio with you in this post. This line just recently launched at Ulta by Nyakio Kamoche Grieco. Nyakoi is a first-generation American of Kenyan descent who began to learn about all-natural beauty from her grandmother when visiting her as a child in Kenya. Her new line is hand made with cold-pressed oils in small batches. The products are made with ethically and sustainably sourced natural ingredients and are certified organic and cruelty-free.

This is a line of products you can feel good about using. My favorites:

Marula & Neroli Brightening Oil: The Marula and Neroli Oils have been used by women for years. Marula Oil is often referred to as “Africa’s Miracle Oil,” and comes from the marula tree which grows only in sub-equatorial Africa. And, neroli oil is extracted from the flowers of the bitter orange tree in Morocco. I like to apply a few drops to my skin just after cleansing for a nice glow. It works great before makeup application to give my skin a more youthful appearance.

Kenyan Coffee Body Scrub: Listen, I LOVE coffee scrubs. While I’ve made my own, this one kicks it up a notch with Shea Butter, Sweet Almond Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, Grapefruit Peel Oil, Avocado Oil, Baobab Oil, and more. Yea, it’s as luxurious as it sounds. Coffee scrubs are great for exfoliating because the coffee acts as a macro-exfoliant while the caffeic acid found in coffee has anti-inflammatory properties and helps increase collagen production, leaving your skin smooth and taut.

Baobab Youth Infused Daily Defense Crème: This daily crème is perfect for morning moisturization. It has a nice thick consistency and absorbs quickly leaving your skin feeling moisturized and soft, not greasy or sticky. Plus, the baobab oil is enriched with antioxidants so that it helps defend skin against damaging free radicals.